Flippable electrical connector

ABSTRACT

A receptacle connector includes an insulating housing including a base and a mating tongue extending from the base and the mating tongue defining a thicken step portion at a root near to the base, two rows of contacts with contacting section exposing to opposite surfaces of the mating tongue in front of the step portion and tail sections extending out of the base, and a pair of separate metallic collars respectively disposed upon the opposite surface of the step portion. Two opposite ends of each metallic collar are embedded in the step portion of the insulating housing via an inserting mold process.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of the co-pending applicationSer. No. 15/346,642 filed Nov. 8, 2016, and Ser. No. 15/338,323 filedOct. 29, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated entirely herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and moreparticularly to a flippable plug connector used with a receptacleconnector.

2. Description of Related Art

In the previously filed provisional applications, the plug connector is“flippable” whereas we turn the plug over and it functions the same topand bottom. In order to be able to handle switching of the super speedsignaling, a MUX (or SS switch) is built into the silicon. This can becostly and also cause some additional degredation in the super speedsignals. Recently, a proposal for use with the future USB (UniversalSerial Bus) was presented.

Hence, a new and simple electrical plug connector and the complementaryreceptacle connector are desired to improve those disclosed in theaforementioned proposal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to a receptacleconnector, comprising an insulating housing comprising a base and amating tongue extending from the base, the mating tongue defining athicken step portion at a root near to the base; two rows of contactswith contacting section exposing to opposite surfaces of the matingtongue in front of the step portion and tail sections extending out ofthe base; a pair of separate metallic collars respectively disposed uponthe opposite surface of the step portion. Two opposite ends of eachmetallic collar are embedded in the step portion of the insulatinghousing via an inserting mold process.

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to a receptacleconnector adapted for mounting on a printed circuit board, comprising aninsulating housing defining a base and a mating tongue forwardlyextending therefrom in a front-to-back direction with a thicken stepstructure formed around a root thereof in transverse direction and avertical direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction, themating tongue defining an upper and lower surfaces thereof; a row ofupper contacts and a row of lower contacts disposed in the insulativehousing with contacting sections exposed upon the upper and lowersurfaces of the mating tongue respectively; a shielding plate embeddedin the mating tongue and the base, the shielding plate defines a pair oflateral locking side edges, and a metallic shield retained on the baseand surrounding the mating tongue to define a mating cavity among theshield and the mating tongue. A rear wall covers a back side of a lowerportion of the base of the insulative housing so as to efficientlyprevent EMI which invades through the mating cavity from rearwardlyentering an interior around the printed circuit board.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a receptacle connector of a firstembodiment of the instant invention, which is mounted upon a printedcircuit board (PCB) in a sink manner;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the partial receptacle connector and thePCB;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the partial receptacle connector and the PCB ofFIG. 2 wherein upper contacts and the shielding plate are taken away;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the partial receptacle connector and the PCB ofFIG. 2 wherein the upper contacts are taken away;

FIG. 5 is a front and top partially exploded perspective view of thereceptacle connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a rear and bottom partially exploded perspective view of thereceptacle connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the metallic EMI collar of thereceptacle connector;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector taken alonglines 8-8 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a front assembled perspective view of a second embodiment ofthe receptacle connector mounted to the printed circuit board;

FIG. 10(A) is a front partially exploded downward perspective view ofthe receptacle connector mounted upon the printed circuit board of FIG.9;

FIG. 10(B) is a rear partially exploded upward perspective view of thereceptacle connector of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11(A) is a further front partially exploded downward perspectiveview of the receptacle connector of FIG. 10(A);

FIG. 11(B) is a further front partially exploded upward perspective viewof the receptacle connector of FIG. 10(B);

FIG. 12(A) is a front exploded downward perspective view of the portionof the terminal module of the receptacle connector of FIG. 11(A) beforethe second molding process;

FIG. 12(B) is a rear exploded upward perspective view of the portion ofthe terminal module of the receptacle connector of FIG. 11(B) before thesecond molding process;

FIG. 13(A) is a front exploded downward perspective view of the portionof the terminal module of the receptacle connector of FIG. 11(A) whereinthe housing and the contacts are pre-assembled together before thesecond molding process;

FIG. 13(B) is a further rear exploded upward perspective view of theportion of the terminal module of the receptacle connector of FIG. 11(B)wherein the housing and the contacts are pre-assembled together beforethe second molding process;

FIG. 14 is a front assembled perspective view of the portion of theterminal module of the receptacle connector of FIG. 13(A);

FIG. 15 is a further front assembled perspective view of the portion ofthe terminal module of the receptacle connector of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16(A) is a further front assembled perspective view of a portion ofthe terminal module of the receptacle connector of FIG. 15 before thesecond molding process;

FIG. 16(B) is a rear assembled perspective view of the portion of theterminal module of the receptacle connector of FIG. 15 before the secondinsert molding process;

FIG. 17 is a front assembled perspective view of the terminal module ofthe receptacle connector of FIG. 16(A) after the second insert moldingprocess;

FIG. 17(A) is a front assembled perspective view of another embodimentof the terminal module of the receptacle connector of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18(A) is a front perspective view of the portion of the terminalmodule of the receptacle connector of FIG. 16(A) to show the structuresthereof wherein a front section is removed to expose the correspondinggrooves therein;

FIG. 18(B) is a front perspective view of the portion of the terminalmodule of the receptacle connector of FIG. 17 to show the correspondinggrooves are filled with the insulative material after the second moldingprocess;

FIG. 19(A) is a side cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector ofFIG. 9;

FIG. 19(B) is a side cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector ofFIG. 9;

FIG. 20 is a front assembled perspective view of a third embodiment ofthe receptacle connector mounted upon the printed circuit boardaccording to the invention;

FIG. 21 is a front exploded perspective view of the receptacle connectortaken away from the printed circuit board of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22(A) is a further front exploded perspective view of thereceptacle connector of FIG. 21 after the second insert molding process;

FIG. 22(B) is a further rear exploded perspective view of the receptacleconnector of FIG. 21 after the second insert molding process;

FIG. 23 is a further front exploded perspective view of the receptacleconnector of FIG. 21 after the first insert molding process;

FIG. 24 is a further front exploded perspective view of the terminalmodule of the receptacle connector of FIG. 23 after the first insertmolding process;

FIG. 25(A) is further front exploded perspective view of the terminalmodule of the receptacle connector of FIG. 24 after the first insertmolding process;

FIG. 25(B) is a further rear exploded perspective view of the terminalmodule of the receptacle connector of FIG. 24 after the first insertmolding process;

FIG. 26(A) is a further front exploded perspective view of the terminalmodule of the receptacle connector of FIG. 25(A);

FIG. 26(B) is a further rear exploded perspective view of the terminalmodule of the receptacle connector of FIG. 25(A);

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector mountedupon the printed circuit board of FIG. 20;

FIG. 28 is a top view of the contacts of the receptacle connector ofFIG. 20 to show width variation of the contacts;

FIG. 29 is a top view of the terminal module of the receptacle connectorof FIG. 20;

FIG. 30 is an assembled perspective view of a fourth embodiment of thereceptacle connector mounted upon the printed circuit board according tothe invention;

FIG. 31 is a rear exploded view of the receptacle connector taken awayfrom the printed circuit board of FIG. 30;

FIG. 32(A) is a further front exploded view of the receptacle connectorof FIG. 30;

FIG. 32(B) is a further rear exploded view of the receptacle connectorof FIG. 31;

FIG. 33(A) is a further front exploded view of the receptacle connectorof FIG. 32(A);

FIG. 33(B) is a further rear exploded view of the receptacle connectorof FIG. 32(B);

FIG. 34 is a further rear exploded view of the receptacle connector ofFIG. 33(B);

FIG. 35(A) is a further front exploded view of the terminal module ofthe receptacle connector of FIG. 34;

FIG. 35(B) is a further rear exploded view of the terminal module of thereceptacle connector of FIG. 34;

FIG. 36(A) is a further front exploded view of the terminal module ofthe receptacle connector of FIG. 35(A);

FIG. 36(B) is a further rear exploded view of the terminal module of thereceptacle connector FIG. 35(B);

FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector mountedupon the printed circuit board of FIG. 40;

FIG. 38 is a front assembled perspective view of a fifth embodiment ofthe receptacle connector mounted to the printed circuit board;

FIG. 39 is a front exploded perspective view of the receptacle connectormoved away from the printed circuit board of FIG. 38;

FIG. 40 is a rear partially exploded perspective view of the receptacleconnector of FIG. 38;

FIG. 41 is a further front partially exploded perspective view of thereceptacle connector of FIG. 38 after the second insert molding process;

FIG. 42 is a further front partially exploded perspective view of thereceptacle connector of FIG. 41 after the first insert molding process;

FIG. 43 is a front exploded perspective view of the terminal module ofthe receptacle connector of FIG. 42 after the first insert moldingprocess;

FIG. 44(A) is a further front exploded perspective view of the terminalmodule of the receptacle connector of FIG. 43 after the first insertmolding process;

FIG. 44(B) is a further rear exploded perspective view of the terminalmodule of the receptacle connector of FIG. 43 after the first insertmolding process;

FIG. 45 is a cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector on theprinted circuit board of FIG. 38;

FIG. 46 is a cut-out, i.e., one half, front assembled perspective viewof the receptacle connector mounted upon the printed circuit boardaccording to a six embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 47(A) is a front exploded downward perspective view of thereceptacle connector of FIG. 46;

FIG. 47(B) is a rear exploded upward perspective view of the receptacleconnector of FIG. 46;

FIG. 48 is a rear further exploded upward perspective view of thereceptacle connector of FIG. 47(B);

FIG. 49 is a front further exploded downward perspective view of thereceptacle connector of FIG. 47(A);

FIG. 50 is a partial perspective view of the receptacle connector ofFIG. 46 to show the tip of the contacting section is pressed by thehousing;

FIG. 51 is a perspective view of the shielding plate of the receptacleconnector of FIG. 46 to show with the openings for insert molding;

FIG. 52 is a perspective view of the collar of the receptacle connectorof FIG. 46 to show a slot formed therein;

FIG. 53 is a perspective view of a seventh embodiment of a comboreceptacle connector mounted upon a printed circuit board according tothe invention;

FIG. 54 is a front view of the combo receptacle connector on the printedcircuit board of FIG. 53;

FIG. 55 is a. top view of the combo receptacle connector on the printedcircuit board of FIG. 53 wherein the shield is shown in a transparentway to expose the inner contact arrangement;

FIG. 56(A) is a perspective view of the full featured cable connectorfor use with the combo receptacle connector of FIG. 53;

FIG. 56(B) is a perspective view of the flippable power cable connectorfor use with the combo receptacle connector of FIG. 53;

FIG. 56(C) is a perspective view of the flippable Type C cable connectorfor use with the combo receptacle connector of FIG. 53;

FIG. 57(A) is a perspective view of the cable connector of FIG. 56(A)used with the combo receptacle connector of FIG. 53;

FIG. 57(B) is a perspective view of the cable connectors of FIGS. 56(B)& 56(C) simultaneously used with the combo receptacle connector of FIG.53;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 1-8 show a plug connector 10 mated with a receptacle connector 50mounted in a notch 102 of a printed circuit board. 100, of a firstembodiment of this present invention.

The receptacle connector 50 includes an insulative housing 52 with amating tongue 54 forwardly extending in a capsular mating cavity 57 of ametallic shield 56 which encloses the housing 52.

Opposite upper and lower rows of contacts 58 are disposed in the housing52 with corresponding contacting sections 60 exposed upon oppositesurfaces of the mating tongue 54 in a diagonally symmetrical arrangementmechanically and electrically so as to allow a so-called flappableinsertion of the plug connector 10 thereinto.

A step structure 62 is formed around a root of the mating tongue 54. Aone piece metallic EMI collar 64 includes a loop structure 66 intimatelysurrounding the step structure 62. The collar 64 further includes anL-shaped extending plate 65 equipped with embossments 63 thereon andreceived in the recess 61 of the lower piece 72 of the housing 52(illustrated later) for mechanically and electrically connecting to theshield 56. The detailed structures of EMI collar 64 may be also referredto the embodiment disclosed in FIG. 15.

The housing 52 is composed of the upper piece 70 and a lower piece 72commonly sandwiching therebetween a middle piece 74 which forms themating tongue 54. The upper row contacts 58 are associated with theupper piece 70, the lower row contacts 58 are associated with a lowerpiece 72 and the shielding plate 76 is associated with the middle piece74 via an insert molding process wherein the contacting sections 60 ofthe upper row contacts 58 and those of the lower rows contacts 58 areseated upon opposite upper surface and lower surface of the matingtongue 54, respectively, as mentioned before. Understandably, thehousing 52 and the associated contacts 58 may be deemed wholly as aso-called terminal module implying the terminals being integrally formedwithin an insulator. A rear portion of the step structure 62 is removedto have a front edge region 71 of the upper piece 70 and the front edgeregion 73 of the lower piece 72 sandwiched between the middle piece 74and the loop structure 66 of the EMI collar 64 so as to enhance thestrength during mating under some bending. In this embodiment, theshielding plate 76 defines an opening 77 and a thinner area 78 for bothsecuring and impedance consideration, and further a pair of mountinglegs 79 so as to efficiently separate the upper row contacts 58 and thelower row contacts 58 from each other wherein the upper row contacts 58form the surface mount type tail sections while the lower row contacts58 form the through hole type tail sections. In an alternate embodiment,the thinner area 78 may be totally removed from the shielding plate 76.The lower piece 72 includes a pair of mounting posts 80 receiving in thecorresponding through hole for mounting the housing 52 to the printedcircuit board 100. The lower piece 72 further forms a pair of recessions49 to receive the corresponding retention tangs 37 of the shield 56.

In this embodiment, the middle piece 74 forms a pair of recesses 82 torespectively receive the corresponding protrusions 84 of the upper piece70 and the lower piece 72 for securing the upper piece 70, the lowerpiece 72 and the middle piece 74 therebetween in a stacked mannerwherein the upper piece 70 further include a pair of downward assemblingpoles 84 received in the corresponding alignment holes 86 of the middlepiece 74, and the lower piece 72 further includes an upward assemblingpole 85 received in the corresponding alignment holes 86 of the middlepiece 74, and the lower piece 72 further forms a pair of upward locatingposts 87 received within the corresponding recesses 89 in the upperpiece 70. In this embodiment, the lower piece 72 defines a plurality ofthrough holes 91 and 93 to receive the tail sections of the lower rowcontacts 58 and the mounting legs 79 of the shielding plate 76 to extendtherethrough as an alignment spacer. Notably, the shielding plate 76forms a front edge section 69 extending forwardly beyond a front edge ofthe mating tongue 54 for anti-mismating consideration, and a pair oflateral edge sections 67 for locking with a latch 39 of the plugconnector 10 (illustrated later). In brief, the shielding plate 76 isessentially multifunctional to perform shielding, grounding,reinforcing, anti-mis-mating and locking. A metallic bracket 95 issoldered under the shield 56 and forms a pair of supporting legs 97mounted into the through hole 103 of the printed circuit board 100 forsupporting the receptacle connector 50 within the notch 102 of theprinted circuit board 100. The shield 56 further includes an upside-downU-shaped structure (not labeled) on a rear portion covering the rearportion of the housing 52 with a pair of mounting legs 55 received inthe through holes 104 for mounting to the printed circuit board 100 anda pair of locking tabs 59 received in the recesses 99 of the upper piece70 after the shield 56 is rearwardly assembled to the housing 52 in afront-to-back direction. Notably, the mounting leg 79 of the shieldingplate 76 share the same through hole with the neighboring groundingcontact tail for enhancing grounding effect.

Referring to FIGS. 9-19(B), according to a second embodiment of theinvention the receptacle connector 200 includes a terminal module 220enclosed in the metallic shield 210, the terminal module 220 includes avertical base 2205, a horizontal base 2206 and a mating tongue 294extends forwards from the vertical base 2205. The terminal module 220essentially includes a main basis 230 as a semi-finished part, and afiller 260 applied upon and filled within the main basis 230 via secondinsert molding process. The main basis 230 includes an upper part 232and a lower part 242 commonly sandwiching a shielding plate 256therebetween. The upper part 232 includes a plurality of upper contacts234 embedded within an upper insulator 236 via a first insert moldingprocess with the contacting sections 233 exposed upon an upper surfaceof the upper insulator 236, the tail sections 237 exposed behind theupper insulator 236, and retention protrusions 235 located between thecontacting sections 233 and the tail sections 247 in the front-to-backdirection and embedded within the upper insulator 236. Notably, theupper insulator 236 essentially forms a Z-shaped structure in a sideview with an additional rear wall and further defines a plurality ofgrooves 238 extending along the front-to-back direction while hiddenunder the upper surface of the upper insulator 236, and a plurality ofthrough holes 240 in the vertical direction and in communication withthe corresponding grooves 238, respectively. The through holes 240 areformed for receiving mold cores which are used to press against contactscarries during the first inserted mold process and then the contactcarriers are cut to separate the contacts by cutting-tools going throughthe through holes 240. Furthermore, the reason why the through holes 240communicate with the corresponding grooves 238 respectively, is for thesecond insert molding process illustrated later. A pair of protrusions241 is formed on two opposite lateral sides of the upper insulator 236for the second insert molding process. The upper insulator 236 isfurther equipped with a downward protrusion 239 and a recession 231 forcoupling to the counterparts of the lower part 242 during assembling tothe final main basis 230. Understandably, as shown in FIGS. 18(A) and18(B), the upper insulator 236 forms a zigzag structure in across-sectional view to receive the corresponding contacting sections233 and to form the corresponding grooves 238 so that the contactingsections 233 and the grooves 238 are not aligned with in the verticaldirection but being laterally offset from each other. Furthermore, atransverse groove 280 is formed in the upper insulator 236 to intersectwith the plurality of grooves 238 and under the upper surface of theupper insulator 236 for integration/reinforcement consideration duringthe second insert molding process. It is noted that the upper insulator236 is terminated behind the corresponding tips 2331 of the contactingsections 233 so as to expose only the corresponding tips of thecontacting sections 233 compared with the full contacting sections ofthe first embodiment as shown in FIG. 6.

The arrangement of the lower part 242 are similar to that of the upperpart 232 only with some minor differences. The lower part 242 includes aplurality of lower contacts 244 embedded with a lower insulator 246 viaanother first insert molding process with the lower contacting sections243 exposed upon a lower surface of the lower insulator 246, the lowertail sections 247 exposed behind the lower insulator 246, and theretention protrusions 245 located between the contacting sections 243and the tail sections 247 in the front-to-back direction and embeddedwithin the lower insulator 246. Notably, the lower insulator 246 forms aZ-shaped structure in a side view and defines a plurality of grooves 248extending along the front-to-back direction and hidden above the bottomsurface of the lower insulator 242, and a plurality of through holes 250communicating with the corresponding grooves 248 in the verticaldirection, respectively. A pair of protrusions 251 are formed on twoopposite lateral sides of the lower insulator 246 for the second insertmolding process. The lower insulator 246 is further equipped with anupward protrusion 249 and a recession 261 for coupling to thecorresponding recession 231 and the downward protrusion 239 of the upperpart 232 during assembling to the final main basis 230. Understandably,as shown in FIGS. 18(A) and 18(B), the lower insulator 246 forms azigzag structure in a cross-sectional view to receive the correspondingcontacting sections 243 and to form the corresponding grooves 248 sothat the contacting sections 243 and the grooves 248 are not alignedwith in the vertical direction but being laterally offset from eachother. Furthermore, a transverse groove 282 is formed in the upperinsulator 246 to intersect with the plurality of grooves 248 and underthe lower surface of the upper insulator 246 forintegration/reinforcement consideration during the second insert moldingprocess. It is noted that the lower insulator 246 is terminated behindthe corresponding tip sections of the contacting sections 243 so as toexpose only the corresponding tip sections 2431 of the contactingsections 243 compared with the full contacting sections of the firstembodiment as shown in FIG. 6. A pair of downwardly extending mountingposts 283 are located on a rear side of the lower insulator 246.

The shielding plate 256 forms a pair of locking side edges 258 forlocking with the corresponding latches of the corresponding plugconnector as shown in the first embodiment, and a central large throughopening 257 and a pair of small through openings 259 in a front portionfor allowing the fillers 260 to occupy therein during the second insertmolding process. A pair of legs 255 are formed on a rear portion of theshielding plate 256, a pair of notches 253 are formed in aside-projecting portion 2561 of each lateral side of the shielding plate256, and a large cutout 254 is formed in a front portion of theshielding plate 256. A pair of metallic collars 290 are respectivelymounted upon the upper insulator 236 and the lower insulator 246,respectively. Each of collars 290 includes a pair of retention lugs 292respectively located on two opposite lateral sides and embedded in theinsulative housing.

During assembling the main basis 230, the upper part 232 and the lowerpart 242 are assembled with each other along the vertical direction withthe shielding plate 256 sandwiched therebetween in the verticaldirection wherein the protrusions 239 and 249 extend through the centralopening 247 to be received within the corresponding recessions 261 and231, and the retention lugs 292 are received in the correspondingnotches 253

The retention lug 290 at each end of the collar 290 includes a first lug2921 with a half-circle notch 2923 at each free end of the first lug anda second lug 2922. The upper collar 290 a and the lower collar 290 b aresidewardly assembly to a root of the tongue portions 2911 of theassembled upper and lower parts. The first and second lugs of the upperand lower collars are received in the corresponding notches 253, thefirst and second lugs in the same notch 253 are aligned with each otherand spaced from each other with a gap 2924 which will be fully filledwith the filler 260. The protrusions 241, 251 are located between theretention lugs.

The filler 260 is applied upon and into the main basis 230 to form thecomplete terminal module 220 via the second insert molding process. Thefiller 260 fills the grooves 238, 248, the through openings 240, 250,the transverse grooves 280, 282, the central opening 257, the pair ofopenings 259, the large cutout 254, and also covers two opposite lateralside portions and the front side portion of the main basis 230 whileexposing the pair locking side edges 258. FIG. 17(A) shows anotherembodiment similar to the first embodiment where the lateral sides 252of the shielding plate 256 are fully exposed to an exterior along theforwardly extending mating tongue 294 of which the contacting sections233, 243 are exposed on two opposite surfaces. The collars 290 areexposed to an exterior for mating with the spring plates of thecorresponding plug connector.

Notably, the line 295 is a boundary line between the filler 260 and theupper insulator 236 wherein the filler 260 share the same upper surfacewith the upper insulator 236 and the same lower surface with the lowerinsulator 246 on the mating tongue 294. Clearly, the tip sections 2331of the contacting sections 233 are retained by the filler 260 via thesecond insert molding process while the remaining portions of thecontacting sections are retained by the upper insulator 236 via thefirst insert molding process. So are the contacting sections 243.Referring to FIGS. 19(A) and 19(B), the front tip section 2331 of thecontacting section 233 and the front tip section 2431 of the contactingsection 243 are embedded within the filler 260, which is different fromthat in the first embodiment as shown in FIG. 7 with better retentionperformance On the other hand, because the filler 260 fills everywhereof the main basis 230 in three dimensions internally and/or externallyunder the second insert molding process, the whole terminal module 220is efficiently consolidated including the front mating tongue 294, thearea around the collars 290 and the rear main body behind the collars290. Therefore, the so-call two-shot or double insert moldings method,i.e., the initial one for forming each of upper part 232 and lower part242 and the successive one for integrating the terminal module 220, usedin this embodiment achieves the strong structure than the assemblingtype. As indicated before, an advantage of this embodiment is to preventthe tip of the contacting sections of the contacts from pop-up due toretention of the filler 260. It is also noted that because only the veryshort tip section of the contacting section 233/243 is exposed outsideof the upper/lower insulators 236/246 after the first insert moldingprocess, such tip section of the contacting section is not subject totilting during the second insert molding process. Understandably, if theboundary line 295 is far away from the tip of the contacting section233/243, the front section of the contacting section 233/243 is subjectto tilting during the second insert molding process due to the highmolding pressure disadvantageously. Same to the collars 290, the collars290 especially two opposite ends thereof are embedded in the stepportion formed by the fillers 260, only exposing upper and lower plates2941 of collars 290 to the mating surfaces of the mating tongue. Theupper and lower plates are flushed with the step portions of the filler260. As shown in FIG. 10(A), the filler 260 surrounding the upper andlower parts form the mating tongue 294 and the vertical base 2205, whilethe horizontal base 2206 are exposed to an external without any filler260 for lower cost. As shown in FIG. 11(A), the filler 260 includes afront bridge 2601 which surrounding front edges of the tongues of theinsulators as best shown in FIG. 19(A), and other tongue portion 2602and a base portion 2603 surrounding corresponding tongues and base ofthe insulator. As best shown in FIG. 19(B) and FIG. 10(A), the stepportion 2201 at a root of the mating tongue has a front portion 2201 alocated in front of the collars 290 to resist the collars and the frontportion 2201 a has a front tilt face 2201 b and a horizontal face 2201 cflushed with the collars. The mating tongue defines two opposite matingsurfaces at an upper and a lower surface thereof. A rear edge 2111 ofthe shielding 210 is retained around the vertical base 2205. Similar tothe first embodiment, after assembled the mating tongue 294 extends inthe capsular mating cavity 211 defined in the shield 210 for allowingthe corresponding plug connector to be inserted therein in a flippablemanner, i.e., concerning no orientations. Similar to the firstembodiment, the lower insulator 246 has a pair of alignment posts 284respectively received within the corresponding recesses 286 of the upperinsulator 236 so as to guide vertical assembling between the upperinsulator 236 and the lower insulator 246 in the vertical direction tosandwich shielding plate 256 therebetween as mentioned before.

FIGS. 20-29 show a third embodiment similar to a second embodimentwherein the receptacle connector 300 mounted upon the printed circuitboard 103 includes a terminal module 320 enclosed in the metallic shield310 which is soldered to a metallic bracket 312. The terminal module 320essentially includes a main basis 330 as a semi-finished part, and afiller 360 applied upon and filled within the main basis 330 via asecond insert molding process. The main basis 330 includes an upper part332 and a lower part 342 commonly sandwiching a shielding plate 356therebetween. The upper part 332 includes a plurality of upper contacts334 embedded within an upper insulator 336 via a first insert moldingprocess with the contacting sections 333 exposed upon an upper surfaceof the upper insulator 336, the tail sections 337 exposed behind theupper insulator 336, and retention protrusions 335 located between thecontacting sections 333 and the tail sections 337 in the front-to-backdirection and embedded within the filler 360 after the second insertmolding process. Notably, the upper insulator 336 essentially forms aZ-shaped structure in a side view with an additional rear wall andfurther defines a plurality of grooves 338 extending along thefront-to-back direction while hidden under the upper surface of theupper insulator 336, a plurality of grooves 381 extending along thefront-to-back direction and exposed upon the upper surface of the upperinsulator 336, and a plurality of through holes 340 in the verticaldirection and in communication with the corresponding grooves 338,respectively. It is noted that the grooves 338 and the grooves 381 andthe through holes 340 are used for having the core pins therein duringthe first insert molding process to retain/sandwich the contactingsections 333 of the corresponding contacts 334 in the transversedirection. Another set of through holes 385 are formed in the upperinsulator 336 right under the contacting sections 333 of thecorresponding contacts 334 for receiving the molding core pins duringthe first insert molding process to support the contacting sections 333in the vertical direction. Anyhow, those grooves 338, 381 and thethrough holes 340, 385 will be filled with the filler 360 during thesecond insert molding process. The upper insulator 336 is furtherequipped with two downward protrusion 339, 339′ and two recession 331,331′ for coupling to the counterparts of the lower part 342 duringassembling to the final main basis 330. Furthermore, a transverse groove380 is formed in the upper insulator 336 to intersect with the pluralityof grooves 381 and under the upper surface of the upper insulator 336for integration/reinforcement consideration during the second insertmolding process. It is noted that compared with the similar secondembodiment described in the previously filed application 61/989,508which implements the two insert molding processes while still leavingshortened tips of the corresponding contacting sections at the front, inthis embodiment the upper insulator 336 fully covers the front tips ofthe contacting sections 333 of the corresponding contacts 334, thusavoiding the possible tilting of the front tips of the contactingsections of the corresponding contact during the second insert moldingprocess. The upper insulator 336 further forms a pair of notches 395 intwo opposite lateral sides. It should be noted that using thetwo-insert-molding process or the so-called two-shot process to form acomplete tongue like part is essentially not novel, referring to thecopending application Ser. No. 14/531,978 having the same assigneethereof.

The arrangement of the lower part 342 are similar to that of the upperpart 332 only with some minor differences. The lower part 342 includes aplurality of lower contacts 344 embedded with a lower insulator 346 viaanother first insert molding process with the lower contacting sections343 exposed upon a lower surface of the lower insulator 346, the lowertail sections 347 exposed behind the lower insulator 346, and theretention protrusions 345 located between the contacting sections 343and the tail sections 347 in the front-to-back direction and embeddedwithin the filler 360 after the second insert molding process. Notably,the lower insulator 346 forms a Z-shaped structure in a side view anddefines a plurality of grooves 348 extending along the front-to-backdirection and hidden above the bottom surface of the lower insulator342, a plurality of grooves 383 extending along the front-to-backdirection and a plurality of through holes 350 communicating with thecorresponding grooves 348 in the vertical direction, respectively.Another set of through holes 387 are formed in the lower insulator 346right above the contacting sections 343 of the corresponding contacts344 for receiving the molding core pins during the first insert moldingprocess to support the contacting sections 343 in the verticaldirection. The filler 360 fills the grooves 348, 383 and the throughholes 350, 387 during the second insert molding process. The lowerinsulator 346 is further equipped with upward protrusions 349, 349′ andrecessions 361, 361 for coupling to the corresponding recessions 331,331′ and the downward protrusions 339, 339′ of the upper part 332 duringassembling to the final main basis 330. Furthermore, a transverse groove382 is formed in the lower insulator 346 to intersect with the pluralityof grooves 383 and above the lower surface of the lower insulator 346for integration/reinforcement consideration during the second insertmolding process. It is noted that the lower insulator 346 fully coversthe contacting sections 343 of the contacts 344 and formed a pair oflegs 397.

The shielding plate 356 forms a pair of locking side edges 358 forlocking with the corresponding latches of the corresponding plugconnector as shown in the first embodiment, and two pairs of largethrough opening 357 for extension of the corresponding protrusions 349.349′ and 339, 339′, and a pair of small through openings 359 in a frontportion for allowing the fillers 360 to occupy therein during the secondinsert molding process. A pair of legs 355 are formed on a rear portionof the shielding plate 356, a pair of notches 353 are formed in eachlateral side of the shielding plate 356, and a large cutout 354 isformed in a front portion of the shielding plate 356. A pair of metalliccollars 390 are respectively mounted upon the upper insulator 336 andthe lower insulator 346, respectively. Each of collars 390 includes apair of retention lugs 392 respectively located on two opposite lateralsides, and an extension 394 in the vertical direction to mechanicallyand electrically connect the shield 310.

During assembling the main basis 330, the upper part 332 and the lowerpart 342 are assembled with each other along the vertical direction withthe shielding plate 356 sandwiched therebetween in the verticaldirection and also in the front-to-back direction wherein theprotrusions 339, 339′ and 349, 349′ extend through the central opening347 to be received within the corresponding recessions 361, 361′ and331, 331′, the legs 297 are received in the corresponding notches 395,and the retention lugs 392 are received in the corresponding notches353.

The filler 360 is applied upon and into the main basis 330 to form thecomplete terminal module 320 via the second insert molding process. Thefiller 360 fills the grooves 338, 348, the through openings 340, 350,the transverse grooves 380, 382, the pair of openings 359, the largecutout 354, and also covers the vertical portions of both the upper part332 and the lower part 342, two opposite lateral side portions and thefront side portion of the main basis 330 while exposing the pair lockingside edges 358. The collars 390 are exposed to an exterior for matingwith the spring plates of the corresponding plug connector. The shield310 encloses the terminal module 320 and soldered to the bracket 312.The bracket 312 includes retention tabs 314 received in thecorresponding recess of the upper insulator 336 for securing theterminal module 320 thereto, a plurality of mounting legs 316 formounting into the though holes 1031 in the printed circuit board 103,and a plurality of tabs 318 on the rear wall 317 electrically andmechanically connected to the corresponding pad. Notably, compared withthe two previous embodiments, in this embodiment the shield 310 only hasthe front capsular section without the rear raised rectangular section.Therefore, the corresponding bracket 312 is required to further form arear raised section to shield the base of the housing. Anyhow, similarto what is disclosed in the provisional application 61/977,115, thebracket 312, which as a front partially capsular section (not labeled)and the rear partially rectangular raised section (not labeled), isequipped with the lateral extension 315 (FIG. 22(A)) extending from therear raised section to shield, in the front-to-back direction, thecorresponding upper insulator which is originally exposed forwardly tothe exterior.

Because the filler 360 fills everywhere of the main basis 330 in threedimensions internally and/or externally under the second insert moldingprocess, the whole terminal module 320 is efficiently consolidatedincluding the front mating tongue 399, the area around the collars 390and the rear main body behind the collars 390. Therefore, the so-calltwo-shot or double insert moldings method, i.e., the initial one forforming each of upper part 332 and lower part 342 and the successive onefor integrating the terminal module 320, used in this embodimentachieves the strong structure than the assembling type. An advantage ofthis embodiment is to prevent the tip of the contacting sections of thecontacts from pop-up via the first molding process while having thethrough holes, which are used to receive core pins forholding/supporting the contacting sections of the contacts in positionduring the first insert molding process, filled with the filler 260during the second insert molding process so as to assure the sufficientstrength of the mating tongue. Similar to the first embodiment, afterassembled the mating tongue 399 extends in the capsular mating cavity311 defined in the shield 310 for allowing the corresponding plugconnector to be inserted therein in a flippable manner, i.e., concerningno orientations. The rear wall 319 of the shield 310, which cover theback side of the lower portion of the lower insulator 346 mayefficiently prevent EMI which invades through the mating cavity 311,from rearwardly entering an interior of the computer around the printedcircuit board 103. As shown in FIG. 27, the rear wall 319 of the shield310 may shield EMI at or below the level of the printed circuit board103 while the rear wall 317 of the bracket 312 may shield EMI above theprinted circuit board 103 along the front-to-back direction. Thus, bycooperation of those two rear walls, the EMI may be efficientlyprevented along the front-to-back direction. Notably, the lateralextension 315 covering the originally exposed corresponding portion ofthe housing, i.e., the upper insulator, also provides EMI preventionalong the front-to-back direction.

FIGS. 30-37 show a fourth embodiment similar to the previous embodimentswherein the receptacle connector 500 mounted upon and within a cutout1041 of the printed circuit board 104. The connector 500 includes ametallic shield 510 enclosing the terminal module 520 andattached/soldered to a metallic bracket 512 above which is mounted tothe printed circuit board via mounting legs 516. The shield 510 isequipped with the flared flange 514 in the front opening for easyinsertion of the plug connector is made via the stamping from sheetmetal with spring tangs 513 for engagement with the inserted plugconnector. A rear wall 515 is unitarily formed with the shield 510 toprevent EMI invasion along the front-to-back direction around a lowerhalf portion of the connector 500 wherein the rear wall 515 extends froma bottom wall 517 of the shield 510, located behind the terminal module520, and terminates around an upper surface of the printed circuit board104 as shown in FIG. 37. Similar to the previous embodiment, the bracket512 is equipped with a rear wall 519 extending downward from a top wall(not labeled), located behind the terminal module 520, and terminates atan upper surface of the printed circuit board 600. Thus, by cooperationof both the rear wall 515 of the shield 510 and the rear wall 519 of thebracket 512, no EMI through the connector 500 may invade an interior ofthe computer around the printed circuit board 600 in the front-to-backdirection. Notably, in this embodiment, the rear wall 515 is unitarilyformed with the shield 510.

Similar to the previous embodiment, the terminal module 520 includes amain basis 530 and a filler 560 assembled to each other via a secondinsert molding process. The main basis 530 includes an upper part 532essentially consisting of a plurality of upper contacts 534 embeddedwithin an upper insulator 536 via a first insert molding process, alower part 542 essentially consisting of a plurality of lower contacts544 embedded within a lower insulator 546 via a second insert moldingprocess, and metallic shield plate 556 sandwiched between the upper part532 and the lower part 542. The man basis 530 and the filler 560 arevery similar to those in the previous embodiment disclosed in FIG. 20-29except some tiny differences. For example, several ribs 537 are formedon the upper insulator 536 and an upstanding wall 547 is formed on thelower insulator 546 for interacting with the filler 560. The collar 590further forms a pair of through holes 592 in the vertical extension 594for filling of the filler 560. The filler 560 defines a contour incompliance with that of the shielding plate 556 so that the locking sideedge 558 of the shielding plate 556 and the front edge of the shieldingplate 556 no longer protrude out of the mating tongue 599 of theterminal module 530 in an exposed manner wherein the mating tongue 599extends in the capsular mating cavity 511 in the shield 510. Notably,the filler 560 may have less material than that disclosed in theprevious embodiment due to the different contact carrier arrangementwhich may block some injection paths of the second insert moldingprocess. The whole assembling process is similar to that in the previousembodiment by two insert molding processes wherein the rear wall 515 ofthe shield 510 and the rear wall 519 of the bracket 512 are bent totheir final vertical positions after the terminal module 530 has beenassembled into the shield 510. Alternately, the bracket 512 may beformed with its final shape and soldered to the shield 510 after theterminal module 530 is assembled into the shield 510. Understandably, inthis embodiment, a metallic bottom bracket similar to that in the firstembodiment while with an additional rear wall, may not be requiredbecause the shield 510 already provides. At the same time, thecontinuous flared flange 514 around the front opening of the shield 510,which is required for mating and generally provided by the drawingmethod, is also constituted via stamping and forming sheet metaleconomically. In this embodiment, the boundary line 597 of the shield510 is located on a top wall (not labeled) of the shield 510, comparedwith that in the previous embodiment located on the bottom wall.Understandably, this reverse arrangement with regard to the previousembodiment may provide a complete/unitary structure of the rear walladvantageously without a slit/boundary line of the rear wall around themiddle area which is shown in the previous embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 38-45, according to a fifth embodiment of theinvention the receptacle connector 600 mounted upon the printed circuitboard 106, includes a terminal module 620 enclosed in the metallicshield 610 which is soldered to a metallic bracket 612. The terminalmodule 620 essentially includes a main basis 630 as a semi-finishedpart, and a filler 660 applied upon and filled within the main basis 660via a second insert molding process, which is similar to the previousembodiments. It is noted that compared with the similar secondembodiment described in the previously filed application 61/989,508which implements the two insert molding processes while still leavingshortened tips of the corresponding contacting sections at the front, inthis embodiment the upper insulator 636 fully covers the front tips ofthe contacting sections 633 of the corresponding contacts 634, the lowerinsulator 636 fully covers the front tips of the contacting sections 634of the corresponding contacts 644, thus avoiding the possible tilting ofthe front tips of the contacting sections of the corresponding contactduring the second insert molding process.

One important feature of the embodiment is to provide an EMI(Electro-Magnetic Interference) gasket 680 behind the lower insulator646 and the filler 660 while in front of the printed circuit board 106so as to be sandwiched between the electrical connector 600 and theprinted circuit board 106. The EMI gasket 680 is made of conductiveelastomer consists of a silicone, fluorosilicone, EPDM orfluorocarbon-fluorosilicone binder with a filler of pure silver,silver-plated copper, silver-plated aluminum, silver-plated nickel,silver-plated glass, nickel-plated graphite, nickel-plated aluminum orunplated graphite particles. For those materials containing silver, bothpackaging and storage conditions should be similar to those for othersilver-containing components, such as relays or switches. They should bestored in sheet plastic, such as polyester or polyethylene, and keptaway from sulfur-containing materials, such as sulfur-cured neoprene,cardboard, etc.

Because the filler 660 fills everywhere of the main basis 630 in threedimensions internally and/or externally under the second insert moldingprocess, the whole terminal module 620 is efficiently consolidatedincluding the front mating tongue 699, the area around the collars 690and the rear main body behind the collars 690. Therefore, the so-calltwo-shot or double insert moldings method, i.e., the initial one forforming each of upper part and lower part and the successive one forintegrating the terminal module 620, used in this embodiment achievesthe strong structure than the assembling type. An advantage of thisembodiment is to prevent the tip of the contacting sections of thecontacts from pop-up via the first molding process while having thethrough holes, which are used to receive core pins forholding/supporting the contacting sections of the contacts in positionduring the first insert molding process, filled with the filler 60during the second insert molding process so as to assure the sufficientstrength of the mating tongue. Similar to the first embodiment, afterassembled the mating tongue 699 extends in the capsular mating cavity611 defined in the shield 610 for allowing the corresponding plugconnector to be inserted therein in a flippable manner, i.e., concerningno orientations. Different from the previous embodiment, the shield 610of the receptacle connector 600 is equipped with the flared flanges 612for easy mating with the plug connector. As mentioned before, the EMIgasket 680 may efficiently prevent EMI which invades through the matingcavity 611, from rearwardly entering an interior of the computer aroundthe printed circuit board 150. Understandably, because the wholereceptacle connector 600 is essentially fully enclosed within a spacesurrounded by the metallic shield 610, the metallic bracket 612, the EMIgasket 680, and the printed circuit board 106, there is less EMIconcern. Notably, the mounting posts of the lower insulator used formounting to the printed circuit board in the first embodiment no longerexists in this embodiment for assuring no EMI leakage thereabouts. Thesurface mounting structure of the tail sections 637, 647 of both thecontacts instead of the through hole type for mounting to thecorresponding pads 1061 on the printed circuit board 106, is anotherapproach for achieving the EMI protection. One important feature of thisembodiment is to provide a continuous flared flange structure 1061 onthe shield 610 via a deep drawing process so as to not only easeinsertion of the plug connector but also assure no leakage radially.Understandably, in this embodiment the shield 610 is made by a drawingprocess so no rear wall at the rear opening can be formed for blockingcommunication along the front-to-back direction. This is the reason whythe additional EMI gasket is required. Differently, if the shield of thereceptacle connector is made via stamping sheet metal with successiveforming, the rear wall of the shield may be unitarily formed instead ofthe discrete EMI gasket.

FIGS. 46-52 show a six embodiment of the receptacle connector 700mounted upon the printed circuit board 107 according to a sixthembodiment wherein the metallic shield 710 includes the flared edges 712for easy insertion of the corresponding plug connector. Notably, FIGS.46-49 do not show the complete detailed structure while onlyillustrating the primary portions related to the emphasized features;anyhow, the whole structures may be easily gotten via referring to theprevious embodiments. The bracket 750 forms a recession 752 to receivedeflection of the spring tang 714 during mating with the plug connector.The inner metallic collar 720 includes the rearwardly extending plate722 with a notch, i.e., the retention plate 722 is split into two pieces7221 each with a bump as shown in FIG. 52, to increase resiliencythereof. The upper piece 730 forms a laterally bulged portion 732 infront of the collar 720 to protect the contacting section 734 of theoutmost contact. The lower piece 740 also forms the similar laterallybulged portion 742 in front of collar 720 to protect the contactingsection of the outmost contact (not shown). The middle piece 760 forms avertically expanded portion 762 so as to efficiently retain/align theupper piece 730, the lower piece 740 and the middle piece 760 together,and a front stop 763 to stop the collar 760. One half of the width ofthe front tip 7341 of the contacting section 734 of the upper contact ispressed by the middle piece 760 for retention as shown in FIG. 50. Sameis to the lower contact. Understandably, to have the front tip of thecontacting section of the contact pressed by the insulator requires arotational assembling between the upper/lower piece 730/740 with regardto the middle piece 760, instead of along the pure vertical direction.On the other hand, two lateral sides 7201 of the collar 720 may beinwardly crimped to secure to the middle piece 760 as shown in FIG. 52and. The shielding plate 758 has different openings 7581, 7582 tobenefit flow of the insulative material during forming process.

FIGS. 53-58(C) show a seventh embodiment of the invention wherein acombo receptacle connector 900 is mounted upon a printed circuit board980. The combo receptacle connector 900, in this embodiment, includes anunitary insulative housing defining first, second and third matingtongues 902, 904, 906 spaced from each other in a transverse directionwith the contacting sections of the corresponding contacts thereon (notlabeled), and a first metallic shield 910 encloses the first matingtongue 902 to define a first mating port categorized as the Type C port,while a second metallic shield 912 encloses both the second matingtongue 904 and the third mating tongue 906 to define the second matingport and the third mating port which are categorized as the MicroDisplayPort port and the power port transversely communicating with eachother. The combo receptacle connector 900 can mated with the allfeatured cable connector 950 in one orientation for all three matingports (FIG. 57(A)), or with the power cable connector 760 and the Type Ccable connector 770 respectively while simultaneously in thecorresponding ports in a flippable way (FIG. 57(B)), or with the MicroDisplayPort cable connector (not shown) only. Understandably, to achievethe flippable way, the two rows of contacts in both the receptacleconnector 500 and the cable connectors 960, 970 are required to be in adiagonally symmetrical way as shown in the pin assignment charts ofFIGS. 58(A)-58(C). Notably, the housing may be divided into two piecesby breaking the bridge section to separate the first mating port fullyfrom the remaining second and third mating ports and to be mounted uponthe printed circuit board 780 independently instead of simultaneously.On the other hand, the joined second and third mating ports areessentially of a D-shaped configuration which can be altered to othershapes, if necessary.

However, the disclosure is illustrative only, changes may be made indetail, especially in matter of shape, size, and arrangement of partswithin the principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A receptacle connector, comprising: an insulatinghousing comprising a base and a mating tongue extending from the base,the mating tongue defining a thickened step portion at a root near tothe base; two rows of contacts with contacting section exposed toopposite surfaces of the mating tongue in front of the step portion andtail sections extending out of the base; a pair of separate metalliccollars respectively disposed upon the opposite surfaces of the stepportion; wherein two opposite ends of each metallic collar are embeddedin the step portion of the insulating housing via an insert moldingprocess.
 2. The receptacle as claimed in claim 1, comprising a shieldingplate, wherein the shielding plate defines a pair of locking side edgesfor locking with corresponding latches of a corresponding plugconnector, the pair of locking side edge is in front of the oppositeends of the collars.
 3. The receptacle as claimed in claim 2, whereineach collar defines retention lugs at opposite ends thereof which bendtoward the shielding plate and are embedded in the step portion.
 4. Thereceptacle as claimed in claim 3, wherein each retention lug includes afirst lug with a half-circle notch at a free end of the first lug and asecond lug shorter than the first lug.
 5. The receptacle as claimed inclaim 3, wherein the shielding plate defines two notches along aside-projecting portion of each lateral side thereof, the first lugs ofthe pair of the retention lugs are received in the notches.
 6. Thereceptacle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mating tongue includes afront section and a rear section, the front section shares a sameboundary molding line with the rear section.
 7. The receptacle connectoras claimed in claim 1, wherein the step portion has a front portionlocated in front of the collars to resist the collars and the frontportion.
 8. The receptacle connector as claimed in claim 7, wherein thefront portion has a front tilt face and a horizontal face flush with thecollars.
 9. The receptacle connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein eachcollar further forms a vertical extension in the front face of the base.10. The receptacle connector as claimed in claim 9, wherein the verticalextension defines a pair of through holes therein.
 11. A receptacleconnector adapted for mounting on a printed circuit board, comprising:an insulating housing defining a base and a mating tongue forwardlyextending therefrom in a front-to-back direction with a thicken stepstructure formed around a root thereof in transverse direction and avertical direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction, themating tongue defining upper and lower surfaces thereof; a row of uppercontacts and a row of lower contacts disposed in the insulative housingwith contacting sections exposed upon the upper and lower surfaces ofthe mating tongue respectively; a shielding plate embedded in the matingtongue and the base, the shielding plate defines a pair of laterallocking side edges, and a metallic shield retained on the base andsurrounding the mating tongue to define a mating cavity around themetallic shield and the mating tongue; wherein a rear wall of themetallic shield covers a back side of a lower portion of the base of theinsulative housing so as to efficiently prevent EMI which invadesthrough the mating cavity from rearwardly entering an interior aroundthe printed circuit board.
 12. The receptacle connector as claimed inclaim 11, wherein the rear wall unitarily extends from the metallicshield.
 13. The receptacle connector as claimed in claim 11, wherein therear wall is separated from the metallic shield and made from an EMI(Electro-Magnetic Interference) gasket.
 14. The receptacle connector asclaimed in claim 11, wherein the receptacle connector comprises an upperbracket, the upper bracket includes a rear wall covering a back side ofan upper portion of the base of the insulating housing so as to shieldEMI above the printed circuit board along the front-to-back direction.15. The receptacle connector as claimed in claim 11, wherein the rearwall of the upper bracket includes a plurality of tabs electrically andmechanically connected to corresponding pads on the printed circuitboard.
 16. A receptacle connector, comprising: an insulating housingdefining a base and a mating tongue forwardly extending therefrom in afront-to-back direction with a thickened step structure formed around aroot thereof in transverse direction and a vertical directionperpendicular to the front-to-back direction, the mating tongue definingupper and lower surfaces thereof; a row of upper contacts and a row oflower contacts disposed in the insulating housing with contactingsections exposed upon the upper and lower surfaces of the mating tonguerespectively; a shielding plate embedded in the mating tongue and thebase, the shielding plate defines a pair of lateral locking side edges,and a metallic shield retained on the base and surrounding the matingtongue to define a mating cavity around the metallic shield and themating tongue, the mating cavity is for mating with a plug connector ina flippable manner; wherein the metallic shield has no slits thereon.17. The receptacle connector as claimed in claim 16, wherein themetallic shield is equipped with flared flanges for easy mating with theplug connector.
 18. The receptacle connector as claimed in claim 16,wherein the receptacle connector comprises an upper bracket, the upperbracket is attached on the metallic shield and includes mounting legsfor mounting to a printed circuit board on which the receptacleconnector is seated.